The Men’s Basketball team for Syracuse University draws a large fan base from the Central New York area since they are the only representation New York has in a “Power Four” conference, the ACC. Historically, Syracuse is a strong program with a 2124-1012-1 record over their 126 seasons, while notching 15 conference championships, including both regular-season and tournament titles, 6 Final Four appearances, and a National Championship win in 2003 led by star player Carmelo Anthony and coached by the legendary Coach Jim Boeheim. Boeheim is the winningest coach in Syracuse history with over 1000 wins and a 71.7% win percentage. However, when Boeheim stepped away in 2023, the Orange fell into mediocrity. Adrian Autry was appointed the head coach position and coached Syracuse for three seasons resulting in 49 wins, 48 losses, and 0 NCAA tournament appearances. Without meaningful March basketball, Syracuse recognized that the program needed a change, so they let go of Autry to bring in former player Gerry McNamara.
McNamara’s ties run deep with the Syracuse Orange, as he was a very valuable player for them from 2002 through 2006. In his four seasons with the Orange, including the championship season in 2002-2003, he averaged 15.5 points per game and 4.8 assists per game and started in every game he played. After graduation, McNamara would coach under Jim Boeheim and Adrian Autry from 2009 through 2024. He was then hired by Siena to be the head coach of their Men’s Basketball program because they needed a boost after a dreadful 4-28 record in the 2023-24 season. By his second season, McNamara provided a larger boost to the program than many people expected by leading them to a 23-12 record in the 2025-26 season, including a MAAC Conference Tournament win and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They were only able to achieve a 16th seed in the tournament; however, they put the country on watch after nearly upsetting Duke, who at the time were the favorites to win the entire tournament. After his success as a head coach, he was a shoo-in to be the next head coach of the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team.
We are still waiting to see what McNamara will bring in terms of on-court success, but this offseason has certainly been an exciting one for Syracuse fans. The Orange retained sophomore Kiyan Anthony, son of Syracuse Legend Carmelo Anthony, from last season. Anthony is an exciting prospect not only because of the legacy his father carries but also because of his on-court talent, which we saw flashes of in his freshman season last year. Syracuse was also able to draw over three of McNamara’s former players from Siena through the transfer portal; one of those players being junior guard Gavin Doty. In his first two years playing at Siena, Doty was playing at an elite level. In his freshman season, he averaged 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and earned a unanimous selection to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Last season, he improved on those already great numbers by posting 17.9 points and 7 rebounds per game and being awarded First Team All-MAAC and MAAC Tournament MVP. However, it’s not only established talent that McNamara has brought in; he was also able to recruit 4-star Freshman Ryan Moesch from Cushing Academy. McNamara originally recruited Moesch to play for him at Siena, making him Siena’s highest-ranked recruit of all time; however, when McNamara made the flip to Syracuse, he was able to bring Moesch with him. Syracuse recently earned the commitment of their highest-ranked recruit since Carmelo Anthony in 2002. Moussa Kamissoko is a 6’7” wing player who is ranked 19th nationally by 247Sports.com in the class of 2027 and has already made a hard commitment to Syracuse. After this commitment, Syracuse has the 15th-highest-ranked recruiting class in 2027, according to 247Sports.com.
Despite Syracuse not yet playing a game under Gerry McNamara and being currently projected to only finish with a 15-17 record (WarrenNolan.com), Syracuse fans are just happy to see things seemingly moving in the right direction. I spoke to a 14-year fan of Syracuse Men’s Basketball, Cody Jarabek, about what he thought about the upcoming season. “I’m really excited for this upcoming season… if this group gels well together, I can see us making a push into March and hopefully putting Syracuse Men’s Basketball back on the map.” We will get to see how well this squad gels together on October 13th when Syracuse plays their first exhibition game against a tough UConn team. Until then, however, I encourage all Syracuse fans to enjoy all the hype of their future.